APC curvature plots: Displaying nonlinear age-period-cohort patterns on Lexis plots

Enrique Acosta and Alyson van Raalte
Additional contact information
Enrique Acosta: Max-Planck-Institut für Demografische Forschung
Alyson van Raalte: Max-Planck-Institut für Demografische Forschung

Demographic Research, 2019, vol. 41, issue 42, 1205-1234

Abstract: Background: The analysis of age-period-cohort (APC) patterns of vital rate changes over time is of great importance for understanding demographic phenomena. Given the limitations of statistical modeling, the use of graphical analyses is often regarded as a more transparent approach to identifying APC effects. Objective: The current paper proposes a Lexis plot for the depiction and analysis of curvature, which is defined as the estimable nonlinear component of age, period, and cohort effects. Methods: In a single visualization, we combine the dynamics of the location, the magnitude, and the spread of nonlinear temporal effects for multiple populations or demographic phenomena. Using vital rates, we provide three examples in which we analyze the APC nonlinear effects of different demographic phenomena. Results: We construct several APC curvature plots to display the following patterns: the modal cohort of excess mortality from drug-related causes by racial/ethnic group in the United States among the baby boomer generations; the modal age of excess mortality in young adults; and the modal age of fertility over cohorts and across populations. Contribution: The use of the APC curvature plot offers more flexibility when analyzing nonlinear APC effects than the use of mathematical models or other Lexis plots.

Keywords: data visualization; Lexis plots; curvatures; age-period-cohort effects; nonlinear effects (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J1 Z0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol41/42/41-42.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:dem:demres:v:41:y:2019:i:42

DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2019.41.42

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Demographic Research from Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Editorial Office ().